Flashf0rward

Chapter 20: Meeting the Man

Connor

Once we'd made it to the forests outside of the city, it was only then that I was certain we could stop. "Alright, let's slow down and let the horses rest." I said, and Ivy nodded, pulling Fred over into a small clearing. The three of us dismounted, out of breath from the near-death situation we'd managed to just escape from.

Looking over at Ivy, I motioned to her. "I need to talk to you. Now." I said with a gritty inflection. She knew what I wanted to talk about, and nodded, walking over to me. "Just stay with the horses, Yuko, ok?" She said to the younger girl, and she nodded, standing over by Fred while we walked to the side.

As we went to the edge of the clearing, I crossed my arms. "So, something you want to tell me?" Ivy sighed. "Look, I didn't mean for any of this to happen, and I didn't think-" I shook my head. "No, no more lies. I know from what your friend said that your brother didn't want you to bring me along. Hell, he probably just found out you left a few days ago, didn't he?"

Ivy stayed quiet for a moment, then sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. "Ok. I lied to you, I lied to my brother, and I tricked you into saving a kid. Is that what you wanted to hear?" I narrowed my eyes. "You manipulated me because you knew you weren't strong enough to go by yourself."

Frowning, Ivy walked up to me and put a single finger on my chest. "Let's get something straight, mister. I am more than capable of doing things on my own. As I recall, I'm pretty sure I saved your life a few times." I stared back at her evenly. "And as I recall, I've done the exact same thing. You're just a kid who thinks she's invincible because she saved the world."

Her face flinched slightly, and I could tell that remark had hurt. But she didn't drop her tough facade, and she continued on. "No one else would have come with me but you. You needed me just as much as I needed you." I shook my head. "I'm volatile and dangerous. I don't play well with others, and I've almost killed several men. What makes you think I would trust you?"

Ivy shook her head. "You've already forgotten? I told you that there's a reason behind the things you do. Just like there was for me. I did this because I wanted to prove myself. To say I can do things, and to leave no person behind. As long as we save her life, all of this will be worth it." She motioned towards Yuko, who was standing by Fred in the clearing.

I scoffed. "So you trusted in my good samaritan side to suddenly come out and everything would work out a-ok? Life doesn't work that way, especially out here." Ivy clenched her fists. "I know something happened to you to make you the way you are. All I'm saying is, you can be better." I frowned and then raised my voice. "No I can't!"

That made Ivy pause, and I looked away. "I'll always be like this. The person in pain, the person with a scar that everyone hates. The person who always fails." I pointed to my covered eye. "You wanna know what made me like this? This. This is a reminder every day of why I'm living the life I am now. Someone who only now realized the world hates his guts. And someone who is never ever going to fight back."

Ivy stayed silent for a long time, then hugged her arms slightly and looked away. "I'm sorry..." She said lowly. I shook my head. "Too little, too late." Then, we heard something in the clearing that made us both look up sharply. The metallic sound of a hammer of a gun being pulled back. We saw Yuko was being held at gunpoint by the man from the Space Needle. He'd caught up with us.

I clenched my fist and was about to step forwards, ready to blast him back against the tree, then Ivy grabbed my arm. "Don't!" She said, and the man nodded. "Your friend is smart, miracleborn. No last-ditch escape attempts this time." I looked at him, my eye narrowing. "In case you don't remember friend, you're outnumbered." The man smiled softly. "Am I?"

Suddenly, the forest seemed to come alive as several people, all wearing tattered outfits and wielding guns stepped out of the bushes around us, all aiming their weapons at the two of us. Knowing that apparently backup had already arrived thanks to that flare, I knew there wasn't much we could do. I slowly raised my hands, and Ivy did the same.

Two of the men from the reinforcements stepped out and grabbed our guns and supplies off of the horses, emptying them onto the ground. The man from the Space Needle looked down at them. "Quite a lot of weapons here. You collect all these yourself?" Ivy spoke up. "Yep. Just the two of us." She clearly didn't want to give away the location of Sanctuary.

Then, it was as if I felt something shift in the air as a taller, thinner man stepped out of the trees. Everyone seemed to have a physical reaction to his presence, some backing away, others inching slightly closer as if they wanted to get a better look at him. He was wearing a long, tattered, dark blue trench coat with brown pants and boots, with a burgundy shirt underneath. He had dirty blonde, almost light brown hair, that was slightly quiffed at the front.

Walking over to the man from the Space Needle, he stared at him. "Excellent work Giles, thank you." Giles nodded, and then the man looked down at Yuko. Yuko stared up at him, clearly scared, but also hesitant. "Put the gun away, Giles. She's scared to death." Nodding, Giles holstered his weapon, and Yuko ran over to Ivy.

The man now turned to look at us. For some reason, I didn't want to look him in the eye. I felt like if I did, I'd never look away. He walked over slowly and stared at the three of us, looking at us as if we were bugs on a slide, as if he felt sorry for us. It was the same look the scientists at Reservoir had given me while I was inside a test tube. It made me hate him immediately.

After staying quiet for a moment, he held out his hand. "It's very nice to meet all of you. My name is Matthias." None of us moved, unsure of what to do. Then, Ivy spoke up. "I'm Ivy. That's Connor, and this is Yuko...please don't hurt any of us." Taking his hand back, Matthias shook his head. "Men, please lower your weapons. They won't give us any trouble."

The men around us lowered their weapons in unison. They were like trained animals. Matthias put his hands behind his back. "Now, I suppose you're wondering why we're after you. It's a fair question, don't worry. But you must excuse our enthusiasm. We haven't seen people like you out here in a while."

I spoke. "When you say people like us, you mean people with powers, don't you." Matthias nodded. "You would be correct in that assumption. We call them miracleborn, people graced by Him and given abilities that no mortal man could ever dream of having. I must say, meeting not one, but two of you in person is amazing."

Ivy's eyes widened. "How did you-" Matthias motioned to Yuko. "Her? Giles told me all about her. You are very talented, young lady." He said to Yuko, giving her a slight smile. Yuko moved back behind Ivy. "What do you want from us?" I asked, and Matthias turned to me. "I simply want to know if there are more of you."

I looked at him. "There's nobody. Just me and her. That's it." Matthias stared at me for a moment, then I saw his eye appear to twitch. Suddenly, my scarred eye began to hurt, harder than it ever had before, and I knew my pills couldn't save me this time. It was like a piece of hot iron was being shoved into my socket. I collapsed to the ground and started to scream.

Ivy screamed my name, and Matthias looked down at me with a sigh. "I usually don't do this to people, but I am doing this for two reasons. One, you lied to me. Two, you hurt two of my men." He kneeled down next to me. "I know you can still hear me. So listen closely. I'm the kind of man who believes in righteous justice. An eye for an eye, you might say. So when you're feeling this pain, because of me, I want you to know, that it is nothing personal, I promise you."

Gathering what strength I had, I looked up and stared into his eyes. "Go...to...hell..." Matthias looked a bit surprised, then smiled. "You're strong...good man." Ivy shouted. "Alright, stop! Please!" The pain suddenly went away, and Matthias stood up. I stared at Ivy and shook my head, but she'd already made up her mind.

Looking at Matthias, Ivy spoke. "There's more of us. In a village just a few days from here." Matthias looked at her. "How many?" Ivy hesitated, then he stepped closer. "Don't lie to me, Ivy." He whispered, then she sighed. "Over a hundred, I think." Matthias smiled. "Splendid. You wouldn't mind showing us the way, would you?"